Holy Roman Empire

The bureaucrat on duty just got off the reception, and was annoyed at not being able to enjoy himself to his heart's content. He glanced at the beginning and thought it was a telegram asking for credit, so he didn't go back.

The Kamen victory was reported once two days ago, and the celebration banquet was held.The details of the second report are naturally not that important, just line up directly, and there is no need to rush at all.

It was not until the afternoon of the next day that the report was reported to Marshal Ivanov, the head of the department, before he discovered what was behind.

It was too late by this time, and before Marshal Ivanov could make a decision, telegrams from Brest for help came one after another.

The two urgent calls collided, and Marshal Ivanov was furious.Time is life on the battlefield. If you receive news last night, report it immediately. Now the reinforcements have already set off.

"Which bastard was on duty last night, I'm going to kill him!"

Hearing this news, the attendant officer replied in panic: "Yes, Georgi."

Hearing this name, Marshal Ivanov became even more angry: "What idiot, the person who arranged for this playboy to be on duty, doesn't he know that this trash has nothing but good things?"

There is no way, the related account can't handle it.Although Alexander II has purged the army, nepotism has not been completely resolved.

Georgi was born in a great aristocrat, his father is the current finance minister, and he entered the army to be gilded by virtue of his family background.

There are many similar examples in the Russian army, and Ivanov usually doesn't care, as long as these people don't cause trouble.Except for a few materials that can be made, the rest of the people usually arrange some simple tasks for "exercise".

Undoubtedly, receiving Telegram is one of them.The most important requirement for this work is reliability, and the rest of the work is simple, and they are reported according to the importance of the telegram.

The great aristocrats are undoubtedly reliable, they and the Russian Empire will be damaged, and they will not reveal their secrets to the enemy.

There are not many things, and it is easy to confuse credit, so it is naturally welcomed by everyone.

Seeing that no one answered, Ivanov knew that a big shot was probably involved, so he stopped asking.He patted the table: "Let that idiot go home immediately, I don't want to see him appear in front of me again."

Shooting is not enough, but it is still possible to rush home.Except for such a big matter, Ivanov has already given a lot of face by not being held accountable.

That is to say, if the matter is not in trouble now, it can still be dealt with internally to cover the lid, otherwise Georgy will die.At such a critical moment, Alexander II would never mind killing chickens and monkeys.

The attendant officer replied fearfully: "Yes, Marshal."

If someone took a closer look, he would find that the sweat was streaming down his forehead and his heartbeat was accelerating.

There is no way, the first to suffer in a fight between gods and immortals is mortals.Many things cannot withstand investigation, and once they are serious, it will be a bloodbath.

Marshal Ivanov still has an overall view, knowing that now is a critical moment, and there should be no problems within the government.Only big things can be turned into small things, and small things can be turned into small things.

As for the telegram, it can only be ignored, as if it has never been received.

……

Of course, Lieutenant General Olivier Thornfield's overall view is still useful. When reporting to the headquarters, he also sent a power to remind the defenders in Brest.

The bureaucrats above can take it lightly, but none of the officers on the front line dare to be negligent. Even if they received the news in the middle of the night, the defenders responded immediately.

It's a pity that the time is still too short, and it's too late to adjust the strategic deployment, and the only way to prepare is to strengthen your guard to ensure that you won't be attacked.

Since the division of the Prussian army, the Brest defenders have taken precautions, but it is only a division of the Prussian army. Now that the number of enemies has doubled, the original preparations are naturally not enough.

The Battle of Brest broke out in an all-round way. The Prussian army launched an attack at any cost, and the Russian army also fought bloody battles.Airships, cannons, and machine guns filled the entire battlefield.

The cruelty of modern warfare leaves people dumbfounded.Looking at the photos sent from the front line, Franz was also shocked.Human life becomes worthless at this moment.

Albrecht, Chief of the General Staff, Palace of Vienna: "Your Majesty, judging from the current situation, the Russians are going to be in trouble.

The actions of the Prussian army disrupted the deployment of the Russians, and the strategic defense line carefully managed by the tsarist government now has obvious loopholes.

Brest was flanked by the Prussian army on both sides, and no one knew whether the defenders would be able to withstand it. The tsarist government could not take the risk.

Moltke chose a very good time. The inland areas of the Russian Empire had already entered winter, and the temperature in many places was already more than ten degrees below zero.

In this harsh weather, it was too late to deploy troops from the rear to reinforce Brest.

In terms of time, it is fastest to deploy troops from the two wings.Winter has not yet entered Ukraine, and it only takes three to five days to reinforce Brest.

Only in this way, the strength of the two wings will become weak.No one can guarantee that the Prussian army will not repeat the same tricks and use a pile of cannon fodder to attract attention, and the main force has already shifted.

The Russians should have a headache now, no matter what they choose, they are taking risks.Once the wrong choice is made, the Southwest battlefield will collapse across the board. "

collapse?

Franz shook his head: "It's not that serious, it's November now, even if the Prussian army captures Brest, there is no time to continue to expand the results.

If it is really urgent, Alexander II can still exchange sons with the Prussian army.Directly ignoring the threat from the southwest, they concentrated their forces to attack East Prussia from the coast.

Even if the entire Ukraine is lost, the Russian Empire is still the Russian Empire.The territory of the Pubo Federation is only so big. As long as a Russian army goes to the rear to destroy it, the Berlin government will lose even if it wins. "

No matter how rubbish the Russian navy is, it is better than the Pubo Federation.In the last war, they were able to attack the coast of the Pubo Federation. If it weren't for the fact that the logistics couldn't keep up, the outcome of the war would have been reversed long ago.

learn from mistakes.

This time the tsarist government had hoarded a lot of supplies in St. Petersburg, and did not attack the coast of the Pubo Federation. What's more, the Berlin government had already prepared and deployed a large number of shore artillery.

These are all small problems, as long as you are willing to suffer casualties, you can always land successfully.

Of course, the premise is that Britain and France will not be biased, otherwise the Russian navy will really not be able to complete the task.

Frederick suggested: "Actually, the Russians still have another choice. After the Kamen victory, the defensive pressure on the local defenders has been greatly reduced.

If the Tsarist government dared to take risks, it could ignore it and directly order local troops to raid Warsaw.

Regardless of whether they succeed or not, they can disrupt the deployment of the Prussian army and make them scramble for a while.If it succeeds, it will make a lot of money. "

Franz shook his head. He always hated this kind of gambling tactics.It's good to succeed, but what if you fail?

"Albrecht, explain to him!"

Franz knew that his strategy was okay, but his tactics really couldn't stand the test. He didn't choose to play, but let professionals play.

Albrecht nodded: "Your Highness, before implementing this plan, you must find out who the Russian army guarding Kamen is.

Don't think that they are very powerful just because they have a good record. In fact, there is too much water in it.

According to our intelligence, half of Kamen's defenders are freshly mobilized recruits. It's okay to let them defend and fight smoothly, but they will collapse immediately if they encounter a hard battle.

If they were to sneak attack Warsaw, more than one-tenth of the people who would be left behind in the hasty march would probably have not arrived at the battlefield.

Regardless of these internal factors, even if these Russian troops are elite, the Prussian army will not intercept them halfway, and they will not be able to complete this task.

The people of Warsaw alone can make them return home without feathers.The Poles hated them to the core. Such a lone army without backup, once in it would not be able to get out. "

Frederick blushed, feeling a little embarrassed.Such a simple problem was not discovered, which severely affected his self-confidence.

Franz smiled, which seemed to him a good thing.Perhaps it is because he has had too much contact with the people in the staff department, and Frederick has been a little overconfident recently.

As a crown prince, it is enough to study the strategic layout, but if he went to study the command of the army, his brain was flooded?

……

Kamen, Russian Command

Chief of Staff Larson: "Your Excellency, the headquarters received a call and ordered us to withdraw troops from the two regiments immediately to reinforce Brest."

Lieutenant General Olivier Thornfield's face changed drastically, and he looked at the map and frowned: "Just take it away from us, and ask if you only draw troops from us, or if you draw troops from all regions."

Chief of Staff Larson: "I have asked this question, and the troops in the vicinity have been mobilized, including us.

However, there are not many people who have been transferred, and our side should have the most troops.It may be because we have just won a big victory, and there will be no major war in the short term. "

Olivier hesitated, feeling something was wrong, and he couldn't tell what went wrong.

"In this case, let's execute the order! By the way, try to find a way to go with the surrounding troops as much as possible. It is too dangerous to send two regiments alone."

Caution is Olivier's greatest strength, a lesson learned in the last Russian-Prussian War.Under this guiding ideology, Olivier often fights dumbly.

He has never won a big victory or suffered a big defeat. It can be said that a general with a very stable output is reassuring.

……

At the Brest Front Prussian Army Command, Moltke directly occupied the war room.

A middle-aged officer whispered: "Marshal, the Russians have moved."

Moltke stood up, walked quickly to the sand table, and ordered: "Hans, move the Russian army's forces and mark them out for me."

"Yes!"

After speaking, the middle-aged officer acted quickly and completed the task very professionally.

Moltke showed a happy smile: "It's ok. Very good, we have already won half of this battle, and how much we can achieve this time depends on whether the Russians are generous enough.

Tell Demacia that the Russians have taken the bait, and he can eat as much as he can.

Order the Seventh Division and No.11 Division to strengthen the offensive.From now on, the assault on Brest day and night will exhaust the Russians.

Order the No.13 Division and the No.20 Fifth Division to prepare for battle. It is up to them whether they can capture Warren. "

As a military strategist who is good at outside battles, what Mao Qi dislikes the most is fighting tough battles. If the Russians stick to their positions, the two sides will fight for strength, and there is no room for him to use all his skills.

Now that the Russians have moved, the situation has changed.The Russian army in the field is definitely much easier to deal with than the Russian army in the fortress.

Although the Prussian army paid a heavy price in the early battles, as long as the Russian army can be mobilized to break the stalemate on the southwest battlefield, everything is worth it.

Chapter 236 The Russians' Counterattack

The Prussian army's intention to open up the situation in the southwest did not affect the strategic layout of the tsarist government. Marshal Ivanov continued the previous strategy.

For a war involving millions of people, the gains and losses on the local battlefield are no longer so important.

As long as the southwest front does not completely collapse, it is within the tolerance of the tsarist government. Now they have a more important goal-Smolensk.

No matter how well prepared the Prussians are, wars always end in death.

Smolensk has become a meat grinder, and thousands of people fall every day. The cruel casualties are a difficult test for both the Russian army and the Prussian army.

Within a month of the war, in order to fight for Smolensk, the casualties of the Russian army had exceeded [-]; the Prussian army as the defenders did not take advantage of it, with more than [-] casualties.

Half of them were killed or disabled, and left the battlefield permanently. It can be said that both Prussia and Russia suffered heavy losses.

The cold numbers on the battle report did not shake Marshal Ivanov's will, but instead strengthened his previous judgment.

The war of attrition is the cruelest, but also the safest.According to the current situation, Russia will definitely not be the first to be unable to hold on.

Marshal Ivanov's acceptance does not mean that others can also accept it. The heavy casualties still aroused doubts within the tsarist government.

The Winter Palace, at a high-level government meeting

Minister of the Interior Mikhail took the lead in launching the attack: "Your Excellency Marshal, it has only been more than a month since the war started, and we have paid 10,000+ casualties, and the front line has hardly moved forward. Shouldn't you explain it?"

Ivanov said unmoved: "Your Excellency, to be precise, we have killed 65863 people and injured 97684 people since the beginning of the war.

Oh, this is the data collected two days ago, and now the number should have increased a lot.Total casualties within the month crossed the 20 mark without any issues.

However, you can't just see our losses, the enemy's losses are also not small.Judging from the statistical data, the death toll of the Prussian army is also approaching [-]. "

The watery "Kamian Victory" contributed a quarter of this figure, which directly narrowed the exchange ratio between Prussia and Russia.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Christan Val: "Your Excellency, Marshal, no one denies your achievements. The problem is that our losses are too great now, and the war has only started for more than a month!"

Ivanov said with a sneer: "Where there is no undead in war, as long as you can win, any sacrifice is worth it.

Of course, it is not impossible to end this war as soon as possible, but the damage to our international reputation will be very great. "

At this time, and still thinking about fighting for power and profit, Ivanov hated these politicians deeply, and did not save them face at all.

Whether it is true dissatisfaction, or to show the tsar, this question requires the benevolent to see the wisdom of the benevolent.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Christian Wahl asked excitedly: "What method, as long as we can fight this war, we can slowly restore our international reputation."

It's not that Christian Val doesn't pay attention to international reputation. It's that their international reputation is at the bottom of Europe.

Everyone turned their attention to Ivanov, expecting his answer.

After a pause, Ivanov pretended to be relaxed and said: "It's very simple. You can follow the example of the Tatars. Send troops to destroy the enemy's territory and minimize their war potential."

Everyone gasped, this is not sabotage, it is clearly massacre, okay?

Foreign Minister Chris Basham hastily objected: "No, doing so will give Britain and France an excuse to intervene in this war. I am afraid that even Austria will not support us by then."

It is already the nineteenth century, and it is out of date to play massacres on the European continent.

Through the eyes of everyone, Ivanov knew that no one supported this plan.It's not that everyone didn't want to, but mainly because they didn't dare. Russia couldn't bear the consequences of the massacre.

Ivanov: "If that's the case, then we can only moderate it, just destroy, not kill people."

When he said this, Ivanov himself didn't believe it.Only doing damage and not killing people is completely idealistic.

During the actual operation, the enemy will definitely resist. How can it be possible not to kill people after a conflict?Red eyes on the battlefield, the military discipline of the Russian army simply can't stop it.

Moreover, Ivanov was going to send Cossack cavalry to carry out this plan, making the situation even more uncontrollable.

Alexander II shook his head: "It's impossible not to kill people, but to kill selectively. Eliminate the young and strong of the enemy and leave the old and weak, and just give the international community an explanation.